Detail from the Equestrian statue of
Frederick the Great (1703). By one of
the great German Baroque
sculptors
Andreas Schluter (1664-1714).

German Baroque Artists (c.1600-1700)

The Baroque Movement

The dramatic style of Baroque
art - affecting architecture, sculpture, painting, and the decorative
arts - was centred on Rome, therefore countries like England, Germany
and France were to some extent on the periphery of Baroque art theory
and practice.

Indeed, the Baroque style of art had relatively
little impact on the fine art of Northern Europe, except for Spanish-ruled
Flanders (see Flemish Baroque Art).
Even the vibrant genre-painting of neighbouring Holland was little influenced
by the Baroque School, except in its realism (see Dutch
Baroque Art).

GREAT EUROPEAN PAINTERS
For biographies and paintings
of the greatest artists in Europe
from the Renaissance to 1800,
see: Old Masters: Top 100.

EVOLUTION
OF VISUAL ART
For details of art movements
and styles, see: History of Art.
For the chronology and dates
of key events in the evolution
of visual arts around the world
see: History of Art Timeline.

SCULPTURE
For information about the
"plastic arts" and 3-D works
in bronze, stone and clay,
along with biographies of
famous sculptors, see:Sculpture Art.

BEST WORKS OF SCULPTURE
For a list of the world's top 100
3-D artworks, by the best sculptors
in the history of art, see:Greatest Sculptures Ever.

BEST SCULPTORS
For a list of the world's most
talented 3-D artists, see:Greatest Sculptors.

Painters and Sculptors

German
Baroque art did not arrive until after the debilitating Thirty Years
War (1618-48), which was fought largely in German towns and principalities,
causing immense suffering and commercial dislocation. Except for Frederick
the Great, Protestant northern Germany had few patrons of the arts. Even
in southern Germany, the main application of the movement was in architecture.
As a result, most 17th century Baroque
painting and Baroque
sculpture in Germany was derivative of developments elsewhere. Indeed,
compiling a list of the best German Baroque artists is not easy, even
though there were some exceptional individuals working during the period.
These included the early 17th century German Baroque painters Hans (Johann)
Rottenhammer (1564-1625), Adam
Elsheimer (1578-1610), Johann Liss (1597-1631), Joachim von Sandrart
(1606-88), and the later sculptor Andreas
Schluter (1664-1714).

Architects

German Baroque
architects were more active, especially in central and Southern Germany.
In fact the last flowering of Baroque
architecture was in Catholic southern Germany and Austria, whose architects
seized the opportunity to move away from Italian models during the 1720s.
Among the greatest architects of the time,
were: J.L. von Hildebrandt, the Asam brothers, J.B Fischer von Erlach,
Balthasar Neumann and others. Notable examples of German Baroque architecture
include the Bavarian Baroque church in the Benedictine Ottobeuren, St.
John Nepomuk Church, called Asam Church in Munich, the Weltenburg monastery,
and Ettal Abbey. Baroque religious architecture is also exemplified by
the Frauenkirche in Dresden, designed by George Bahr, and the Basilica
of the Vierzehnheiligen in Upper Franconia.

EVOLUTION OF SCULPTURE
For details of the origins and
development of the plastic arts
see: History of Sculpture.

MEANING OF ART
For a discussion of the types,
values, and significance of the
visual arts, see: Definition of Art.

Major Baroque-style palaces include the
Zwinger Palace in Dresden, designed by Matthaus Daniel Poppelmann (1709-1728),
the Palace of Trier, and the Ludwigsburg Palace, Stuttgart - the largest
Baroque Palace in Germany.

In line with the German concept of Gesamtkunstwerk
("the total work of art"), the architecture of the German royal
houses was based on the model of the French Baroque, notably the themed
royal Palace of Versailles. The finest
example of Gesamtkunstwerk in action (featuring cordinated architecture,
painting and sculpture) is probably the Prince-Bishop's Palace, Wurzburg.
The building, designed by Johann Balthasar Neumann, the top European architect
of the day, was frescoed - at the invitation of Prince Bishop Karl Philipp
von Greiffenklau - by the great Giambattista
Tiepolo (1696-1770). For details, see: Wurzburg
Residence Frescoes (1750-53).

The Baroque era in Germany also witnessed
the opening of the Akademie der Kunste (Prussian Academy of the
Arts) in Berlin. This prestigious arts institution was founded in 1696
by Frederick the Great of Brandenburg and served (inter alia) as the arts
council to the government. Its educational function eventually became
the Universitat der Kunste Berlin (Berlin University of the Arts).
See also: Gemaldegalerie
SMPK, Berlin.

List of German
Baroque Artists

Among the Baroque masters of painting,
sculpture and other decorative and applied arts of 17th century Germany,
are the following: